Could Danilo Petrucci be better suited to BMW than Ducati in WorldSBK?

After spending three years aboard the Ducati Panigale V4 R of the Barni team, Danilo Petrucci makes the switch to BMW for 2026 – and it’s a change that could suit the Italian.

Petrucci was three times a World Superbike race winner on the Panigale, all of those coming at Cremona in 2024 when he completed an unlikely treble in the absence of Toprak Razgatlioglu, who’d been injured at the French Round two weeks before.

The Italian also made a successful campaign on the Ducati in 2025, holding third place in the championship ahead of Alvaro Bautista and Andrea Locatelli until the penultimate round in Estoril when he was forced – ultimately – to end his season early due to a hand injury picked up in training.

That injury also delayed his start with BMW, as he was unable to ride in the post-race test in Jerez in October. Petrucci’s first chance to ride the M1000 RR, then, came on 26–27 November at the same Jerez circuit.

Petrucci finished fifth-fastest at the end of the two days, 0.3 seconds slower than BMW test rider Michael van der Mark, and reportedly pleased about his first impression of his new bike.

“Danilo [Petrucci] was happy, psyched, and aware,” Petrucci’s manager, Alberto Vergani, told Italian publication GPOne after the test in Jerez.

“He told me 'The team is even happier than me'. Obviously, it was just the first time out, the margin is big, but he's excited about what he did in Jerez. 

“For now, we're looking at the stopwatch up to a certain point, but I've also seen [Petrucci's 2026 teammate] Oliveira competitive and all that is important in keeping the bar high within the team.”

Vergani added that, despite Petrucci having been a Ducati rider for his entire Superbike career, including the season he spent in MotoAmerica in 2022, the BMW is a bike that seems to suit his natural riding style better than the Panigale.

“The BMW is a manly bike, you have to be aggressive,” he said.

“The Ducati, on the other hand, you had to ride it softly. In fact, Danilo couldn't be as explosive as he wanted because he had to hold back. 

“Let's say they're different bikes, and that's exactly why he'll have to reset and start again.”